Matthew 3:5 Commentary and Bible Study

When the forerunner came, people flocked and were ready to be baptized, but the response to Christ was minimal in terms of turning to him. How do we account for it? The general public responded in unpredictable ways. People will be attracted to a new message, submit to a new ordinance, and repent. But people’s reactions are not necessarily to be trusted. Some of John’s disciples were genuine believers, and subsequently followed Christ as directed by John. But others were caught up in the excitement of the moment and saw this as a popular movement and not as their personal response to God. The Puritans made much of this, and compared the response to John with that to Christ, even to authentic preaching. Baptism was a brand-new symbol symbolic act for the New Testament. ‘No,’ say some, ‘it wasn’t new; it happened in the Old Testament. The non-Jewish proselytes, were baptized.’ Yes, they were, and they were circumcised, but John was doing something for Jews. ‘Yes, but the priests’, say some, ‘had a ceremony.’ Yes, but only the priests performed this, whereas John’s baptism is for all. This total washing was a symbol which did not save. It showed the man was a sinner, even though he was a Jew. It was a public act. You had to be prepared to publicly declare that you had seen your need. It was a humbling act, so it indicates the humbling of yourself before God in spite of being born a Jew.In a Baptist Church the practice is baptism by immersion. Some great teachers do not believe this. They practice pouring or sprinkling, but the Greek word means to dip, to immerse. Three great scholars have gone through all references in the New Testament and in classical Greek, and the word never means anything but to immerse, to submerge, such as when floods came. Of course it must be by immersion for it pictures death to old life of sin and rising to a new in Christ as Paul explains in Romans 6. Not until the second century after Christ do you start to have pouring, and this only a provision for when there is not enough water – three jugs – quite a lot of water. Indeed, even child baptizers continue to dip until the 13^th century. Luther baptized babies, but dipped, and Calvin also. The Book of Common Prayer stipulates that the priest should dip the child, and only allows otherwise if the child is weak. Why do Baptists and others who practice believer’s baptism make a fuss about this? Because otherwise the picture which baptism draws is wrecked. It is a bath representing death and resurrection, and also representing complete washing away of sins, not just a little wash.The expression, ‘confessing their sins’ does not mean that they confessed their sins to John as an individual, but they confessed generally that they were sinners, and this was a public confession.